New Gamesa wind power milestone: installed wind energy capacity hits 30 GW

Gamesa, a global technology leader in wind energy, has shored up its track record as a world-leading player in terms of installed capacity, having hit the 30 GW mark. This milestone was achieved with the assembly of one of the eight G128-4.5 MW turbines being installed at the Tornio wind farm in Finland.

The electricity generated by these 30 GW annually provides enough energy to supply more than 18 million European households and prevents the emission of 45 million tonnes of CO₂/year, which is equivalent to the annual emissions generated by 15 million cars or the carbon offset by 7.5 million hectares of trees in the same period.

Since it installed the first G42/44-500kW turbine at the El Perdón (Navarra) wind farm back in 1994, the company has installed 30,000 MW of its turbines in countries all over the world, including Kenya, the Philippines, Mauritania, Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) and Uruguay.

Spain is the country in which Gamesa has installed the most capacity (12,208 MW), followed by the US (3,941 MW) and China (3,512 MW). The company has gradually expanded its geographic footprint in recent years: MW sold outside Spain jumped from just 5% of the total in 2000 to almost 100% in 2013. Today, Latin America and India are the company’s main growth engines, having accounted for almost 70% of first-quarter 2014 sales volumes.

As for the best-selling platforms, of the 30 GW installed by Gamesa, its 2.0 MW platform tops the ranks (installed capacity: 17,460 MW), followed by the 850 kW range (8,690 MW). Meanwhile, the 5.0 MW platform, one of the most powerful in the onshore market, is emerging as one of the company’s core portfolio products, with installed capacity running at 140 MW.

Gamesa’s technological prowess and its know-how in respect of the entire wind power value chain enable it to tailor its turbines to customer demands and the idiosyncrasies of each market. In recent years, the company has installed its turbines in 45 countries; its turbines can be found in desert conditions, at high-altitude sites (over 2,000 metres), in areas exposed to typhoons and even in locations subject to seismic activity.